Method of manufacturing billets



March 28, 1944. E. E. MOORE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BILLETS Filed Dec. 3. 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [7209725075 [49L 5. Moo/e5,

Patented Mar. 28, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD or MANUFACTURING BILLETS Earl E. Moore, Gary, Ind.

I Application December a, 1940, Serial No. 388,402

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing metallic bodies of ferrous metals such as steel billets and the like.

It is now the general practice in rolling ingots into smaller size sections, usually called merchant bars, to reduce the ingots to finished sections in two stages. The ingots are first rolled by a billet mill 'into substantially square billets of appropriate size which, after cooling, generally are processed for removal of surface defects by chipping or, more recently, by scarring, i. e. by burning off the surface by means of an oxygen-acetylene flame. The processed billets are then reheated at the merchant mills for rolling to different shapes.

According to the present invention, it is proposed to roll the ingots by means of a plate mill into relatively wide slabs or plates of a thickness corresponding to the desired thickness of the finished billets with the slabs or plates then cut into a number of billets of the. desired-size.

Oftentimes the requirement for billets exceeds the capacity of the billet mill as first described above, while the plate mill at the same time is operating at a considerably reduced rate which, of course, is unsatisfactory in that the equipment is not being used to its best advantage. Thus, by making billets according to the teaching of my invention, some of the orders may be transferred to the plate mill, thereby maintaining the operation of these mills at a more satisfactory rate and vention will more-fully appear in the course of the following. specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In-the accompanying drawings, I have shown, for the purpose of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus for practicing the invention showing a slab or plate being cut so as to form a plurality .of'billets according to the teachings of the improved method of my invention; I

Figure 2 is a section taken on line II-II of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is an end view of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly tothe drawings, there is shown one type of apparatus which might be used for practicing the method of my invention. This apparatus comprises a plurality of spaced apartconcrete piers 2 securely arranged on the floor or ground of the mill. There is 'mounted on top of the concrete piers 2 a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending trackways at the same time, relieving the billet mill of such an excessive load.

Furthermore, the production cost per ton of billets by means of billet mills generally exceeds the cost of rolling slabs or plates. Consequently, billets may be produced cheaper by cutting them from slabsor plates.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved method of manufacturing billetsand the like which is simple and one which is less expensiveand more efficient than any method heretofore suggested or used.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved. method of manufacturing billets and the like which produces a better and more uniform product than that produced by other methods.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing billets and the like whereby a plurality of bii a may be formed at one time thereby increasin duction.

j of any suitable length and of any suitable design. There is movably positioned on the trackways 3 a crane or carriage 4 supported by trucks or wheels 5 which are adapted to run along the trackways 3.

There is carried by the carriage l and suspend ed therefrom in side by side relation, a plurality of movable manifolds 6 each of which carries a plurality of downwardly extending torches or cutting nozzles 1. Each of the manifolds 6 is supported by a pair of spaced apart vertically extending gear racks 8 attached to the top thereof which are slidably arranged in suitable guideways positioned on the carriage 4. There is connected to each of the manifolds 6- between the gear racks l a vertically extending blow pipe 9 having a pair of valves in arranged on the upper end thereof which are adapted to regulate the flow of the gases therethrough into the manifolds. Each of the valves I0 is connected to a pair of supply lines I! arranged on top of the carriage by. a pair of flexible hose connections l3. Line of the supply lines I! is adapted to supply the oxygen to the manifolds 6 and the other of said lines is adapted to appiy thereto with each of the lines l2 connected respectively to a source of supply of oxygen and acetylene at M and 15, by means of flexible hose connections i1.

It is preferable that thezmanifolds 6 be are ranged for vertical movement on the carriage 4 or slab to be cut and for this purpose there is provided a pair of intermeshing gears is which are disposed on stud shafts l9 arranged in suitable bearings 20 securely mounted on the carriage between each pair of the gear racks l! with which they are adapted to mesh. There is arranged with one of the gears of each pair a crank or manipulating member 23 for revolving the gears, which in turn move the gear racks 8 together with the manifolds 6 carried thereby in a vertical plane.

It is also preferable that the carriage the arranged for sidewise movement so that the torches or cutting nozzles I can be arranged laterally with respect to the plate or slab adapted to be out. For this purpose. there is provided a screw 22 arranged with one of the trucks at one side of the carriage 4 having a handle or crank 23 arranged on the outer end thereof for turnin the same. That is, the carriage 4 together with the manifolds and torches carried thereby can be moved so as to adjust the same laterally by turning the screw 22 by means of the crank 23. It will be understood, of course, that the carriage .4 is so arranged with respect to the trucks 5 that it is slidable in a lateral plane relative thereto.

The method of my invention is practiced in the following manner:

The plate or slab 24 to be out which has previously been rolled in a plate mill to a predetermined thickness is arranged on the concrete piers 2 as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. The plate or slab 24 preferably rests on a comb-like member 25 disposed on each of the concrete piers 2 with the slots 25 therein disposed directly opposite the torches or cutting nozzles I so as to provide a path for the flame after it has passed from the nozzles 1 through the slab 24.

The oxygen and acetylene mixture is then admitted to the manifolds 6 and the torches 1 carried thereby by regulating the valves l0 carried by the blow pipes 9 so that the proper flame issues forth therefrom. At this point the proper elevation of the manifolds 6 and nozzles 1 can be adjusted so as to obtain the *proper cutting action of the flames, that is, the nozzles are positioned at a certain determined distance above the plate or slab so that the flames will cut proportional to the thickness of the plate. The carting the slab longitudinally of the same by means of the plurality of oxygen-acetylene flames into a plurality of billets 21 as it is moved from one end of the slab to the other. It will, of course, be understood that the carriage is moved at a rate of speed proportionate to the penetrating .zles I. Howevenin practicing the method of my invention, it is not necessary that the carriage 4 or the torches move relative to the slab 24, but in some instances it might be conceivable that the slab 24 may be moved relative to the torches or cutting nozzles 1. After the torches or cutting nozzles have passedover the slab 24 and cut that the cost of production of billets is greatly reduced due to the reduction in labor involved in the processing of billets by scarfing. That is, two sides of the billets are automatically and more effectively scaried when the burners are cutting through the plate or slab, thus eliminating the need of later scarfing these sides.

It will be understood, a fact which is well known to those skilled in the art, that when ingots are poured at the open hearth furnace, a pipe or cavity is formed in the upper part of the ingot due to contraction of the steel during solidification. While through experience the extent of this pipe can be quite closely estimated and the corresponding length of the bar while rolled in the billet mill cropped ofi and scrapped, nevertheless it often occurs that some portion of the pipe still remains in the bar after it is rolled into a billet and it is not usually detectable. This defective billet is further rolled at additional cost into a merchant bar, part of which will thus .not meet the customers requirements and have to be scrapped. However, when billets are produced according to the teachings of the present invention, that is, by cutting a plurality of billets from a slab, such defects caused by piping can immediately be detected and the defective length cut oil, thus insuring sound and uniform billets for further rolling.

Also, during the solidification of the ingot there is a certain amount of segregation of the difierent constituents of the steel tending to increase particularly the carbon content in the center of the ingot below the pipe therein. In certain merchant mill products, such a change of the physical properties of the steel, due to a higher percentage of carbon, is objectionable thereby causing numerous rejections. In the present practice, when the ingot is rolled into,

billets for further rolling into merchant bars, nothing can be done to counteract any undue segregation. However, in the present invention after the ingot has been rolled into a slab and billets formed therefrom, the segregated portion remains in the center of the plate or slab and. thus the billets cut from the center portion of the plate or slab can be separated and kept apart from the other billets which is a decided advantage.

While I'have shown and described one specific embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of my invention, as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In the manufacture of metallic billets and the like, the method including the steps of rolling an ingot into a substantially fiat slab of a predetermined thickness'then flame cutting-the slab longitudinally of the same so as to form a plurality of billets of a predetermined size therefrom, said cutting flame adapted simultaneously to scarf both the cut edges and adjacent longitudinal surfaces of the billets thereby conditioning the same for further processing, and finally cutting the defective portions from those biilets having defects therein caused by piping so as to 1 nd anduniform billets. of metallic billets and ig the steps of providing a substantially flat metallic slab of a predetermined size, then cutting the slab longitudinally of the same by means of an oxygen-acetylene flame so as to form a plurality of billets of a. predetermined size therefrom, said oxygenacetylene flame adapted simultaneously to cut the slab into billets and to scarf both the out edges and adjacent longitudinal surfaces of the billets thereby conditioning the same for further processing, and finally cutting the defective portions from those billets having defectsvtherein caused by piping so as to provide a plurality of sound and uniform billets.

EARL E. MOORE. 

